If there is one ‘80s film that is completely original, timeless, seminal, and gets better with every viewing, it is 1985’s “The Breakfast Club.” The story is simple: five teenagers are stuck in the library for Saturday detention. The film
If there is one ‘80s film that is completely original, timeless, seminal, and gets better with every viewing, it is 1985’s “The Breakfast Club.” The story is simple: five teenagers are stuck in the library for Saturday detention. The film throws the viewers in one room with what the school perceives as a criminal, a jock, a brain, a princess and an outsider, and the drama unfolds. What makes “The Breakfast Club” so important is it shows us we are all the same, that every human suffers the same insecurities.
Once again (after the success of “Sixteen Candles”) acclaimed writer/director John Hughes (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) chose to shoot outside of Hollywood in a Chicago suburb. The library set is actually a high-school gym. The production crew built a library to scale. When you watch this film, you will never believe it’s a set. OK, sorry for the spoiler. John Hughes went into “The Breakfast Club” with his muse from “Sixteen Candles,” Molly Ringwald (“Pretty in Pink”), and his favorite off-screen bud, Anthony Michael Hall (“Dark Knight”), setting out to make a simple film about what teens are feeling, not what parents tell them to feel or society says they feel.
The film had a few things on its side to make it such a classic. They rehearsed the film like a play for two weeks and shot the film in sequence. For those who don’t know, sometimes an actor may film the end of the movie on the first day. In “The Breakfast Club” the actors were always able to access emotions the characters felt because they themselves felt the emotions the day before. This takes nothing away from the powerhouse performances of these young actors. To this day Judd Nelson is most known for this film, all due respect to Emilio Estevez (especially as a film director — “Bobby”) but it’s some of his best work and Ringwald, Hall and Ally Sheedy were teens in this film.
At the heart of “The Breakfast Club” if you’re an adult is the reminder just how mean teenagers can be. I think that is why 25 years later this film continues to reach each generation. It’s never condescending or preachy. It just says “here, look!” The film seamlessly captures what being a teenager is. What I enjoy most about this film is it changes every time you watch it. You see more and more nuances in the acting and writing. The film was cut (industry term for “editing”) by guru film editor Dede Allen (“Dog Day Afternoon”). Hughes also had the protection of Paramount’s Production executive Ned Tanen (who pioneered teen films), who was instrumental in the all-time ‘80s classic “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
Open your mind and heart. Enjoy a film you will probably never see again at the movies. This film was made at a time when box office, effects and technology didn’t rule our viewing pleasure, and was not the gage of a movie’s worth. “The Breakfast Club” will deliver you exactly what film is, a perfect orchestration of editing, writing, directing, acting and music. “The Breakfast Club” boasts one of the most-well-known soundtrack songs ever, “Don’t You Forget (about me).”
A free screening of “Identity” with John Cusack is Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lihu‘e Public Library conference room. For more information, call 241-3222. In December we’re bringing in a film that has been winning film festivals. Check next week’s review for details.
1. “Vacation” (1983)
2. “Sixteen Candles” (1984)
3. “European Vacation” (1985)
4. “Weird Science” (1985)
5. “Pretty in Pink” (1986)
6. “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987)
7. “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987)
8. “The Great Outdoors” (1988)
9. “Uncle Buck” (1989)
10. “Home Alone” (1990)
